The present invention relates to swing training devices used in the field of golf.
Years of exposure to the game of GOLF have lead to examination of the fundamental mechanics that must take place in a golf swing to produce a desired outcome with a high percentage of consistency. In the profession of GOLF, commonly noted documentation exists of early stage back swing mechanics relative to the proper wrist hinging position located approximately during the half way back stage and pertinent to proper swing plane golf.
For example: Nick Faldo writes in Golf Today Newsletter, (http://www.golftoday.co.uk/proshop/features/how_to_plug_in_a_repeating_swing.html), “How to plug in a repeating swing.” “For the better part of 20 years, ever since the reconstruction of my swing in the mid-1980s, I have focused on this halfway-back position via what's become known as an ‘early wrist set’. It's quite simple: I look for my wrists to be fully hinged and the club ‘set’ up on a good plane by the time my left arm is at horizontal.”
“From here, the swing is pretty well plugged in” (Faldo).
“The beauty of working on this halfway-back position is that all the details of a technically sound swing are encapsulated within it: you have a full wrist hinge, the club is swinging up on plane, and you maintain good body angles. Completing your shoulder turn gets you to the top, whereupon unwinding the body invites the hands and arms into the perfect hitting position” (Faldo).
Problems that occur while trying to duplicate the proper “halfway-back” swing position are trying to train the eyes, muscles, and brain to react to what you perceive as reproducing the proper mechanical moves.
While golf teaching professionals are great for identifying swing problems verbally, most students of the game cannot carry out what is conveyed to them because they can't see the before or after in order to make reliable corrections. For example, to be told that at the top of ones swing, one did not have the club face properly positioned in relationship to ones spine and chosen target line due to the collapse of ones wrist coupled with the collapse of ones elbow during the “halfway-back” point of the back-swing is unimaginable to absorb, forbid carrying out the change next time because there's nothing to compare with.
There is little replacement for repetition to establish good “muscle memory” while training in the sport of golf; however, golf swings are habit forming and once established are very difficult to correct if needed. For example: a multitude of people know who Charles Barkley is mostly for his outstanding basket ball career and others relate him to his past appearance on the TV show, “The Haney Project.” Most would agree that Hank Haney, the number 1 golf instructor in the World, had his hands full to correct the infamous hitch Charles developed over the years of repeating golf swing habits that are considered non conforming to good golf mechanics theory.
The Brain; thousands of practice balls, one after another and as fast as you can empty the bucket, you find yourself frustrated because that new move is not working like it did during lesson day with the golf pro. The problem is that most students of the game try to process multiple changes all at once, why not; it worked when the instructor was present. It works to some degree because the golf instructor is constantly fixing the problems that the new move has created thus eventually, bang, it's on. An hour later when the lesson is over, multiple new myelin changes have violated your neural circuits taking up battle with old habits and it seems the only way to fix it is with more lessons, $$$.
In Golf Magazine 50th Anniversary Issue, September 2009, Dr. Robert Christina, dean emeritus of the School of Health and Human Performance at UNC-Greensboro and Golf Magazine's learning expert in residence, writes; “The Problem.” “You empty bucket after bucket on the range, but the new swing change you′re trying to ingrain just won't stick. I fact, you find yourself repeating the fault you′re trying to lose over and over.” “The Solution.” “When you practice, work on one change only, or you'll literally short-circuit your brain. Repeating a movement-like swinging a golf club-causes changes in your central nervous system that increase the efficiency of the brain circuits controlling the muscles involved.” “One of these changes is myelination, the production of a fatty tissue called myelin around your neural circuits. Each time you use a circuit, this myelin cocoon gets thicker and increases the timing and speed of the signal traveling through the circuit, making it more efficient. Here's the problem: Myelin doesn't recognize a good golf move from a bad one. This means each lousy swing you make creates myelin and just makes that bad move easier to repeat, adding to the need to practice the right things. “The key,” says Dr. Christina, “is to practice while someone qualified is watching you, or with drills or training aids that provide you with feedback to ensure that you are performing the skill correctly.”
Its been observed recently that there is an enormous amount of focus on resilience training devices, a shift perhaps from the typical audio and digital training devices, which may be attributed to resistance bands having direct influence on trainable muscles with excellent efficiency. The present invention meets and exceeds Dr. Christina's' aforementioned suggestions because it uses all three: use with drills, visually, it's like having an instructor with you, and as a training aid, it provides excellent feedback through out the entire swing.
An over-whelming amount of golf swing training devices are available to the public that focus on parts of the golf swing and in whole but may not be practical or encapsulate what Dr. Christina suggests. For example, a strap that ties your arms together forming a V-shape to discourage disconnect of the major muscle groups during a swing. Another training device would be an elastic strap that is attached to a body part attached to a stationary object that focuses on a particular move or muscle group exercise. Another training device would be a golf club grip formed such that when grasped it aligns your hands in the proper grip position. Yet another, digital video recording software that allows one to view what one did right or wrong during his or her swing. And yet another, and another, and another, etc. . . . .
Given the enormous amount of golf training devices on the market today, the Annual Golf Participation reports (according to National Golf Foundation (NGF)) for 2011 was 25.7 million and an estimated growth for the U.S. in 2012 at 7.4%, and that the average amateur golfer scores 100 on a regulation course for 18 holes, one can deduce that a golf swing training device that comprises multi-learning techniques while maintaining as much as possible the natural characteristics of a playing golf club transferable to the golf course is desperately needed.
The uniqueness of the present invention incorporates a multitude of the aforementioned training techniques and necessities, namely visual aids, muscle memory, and confidence that, what is learned is reliable.
The present invention, a golf swing training device utilizable by a golfer comprising of: an elastic band at relaxed state forming a loop with a length relative to the golfer's size and having two distal ends; the first distal end of the elastic band is connected to the playing club component grip proximal to the butt end of the grip; the second distal end of the elastic loop is attached to the component grip located longitudinally linier from the first connection point proximal to the bore end of the component grip.
Connection points of the band to the golf component grip and the golfer play key role in the stability and performance of the present swing training device. The connection points also provide repeatable natural assistance to proper hand-to-grip position. By using a flat elastic resistance band, used in nearly every fitness center in the U.S., there is little noticeable friction while connection around the back neck during the swing.
While swinging the device, a visual aid is displayed via the stretched elastic band loop that runs parallel to the player's arms; the player can slow or stop his/her swing at any point in the swing for instant visual relationship feedback.
Furthermore, the present invention provides an elastic band loop capable of positioning it on the body in a multitude of different set ups to train while providing numerous visual and muscle memory feedback scenarios.
It is these connections, around the back of neck nearest the upper spine coupled with the connection at the golf swing device, that provide outstanding performance of the present swing training device.